On September 26, 2017, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) announced to grant protection to three sound trademarks solely consisting of a sound element for the very first time.
TM Application No. 2105-29809 for a sound mark played by trumpet
Applicant: Taiko Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Class 5 – Medicines
Mark – Sound is audible by clicking here
Taiko Pharmaceutical, a Japan-based pharmaceutical company, is famous for gastrointestinal medicine “Seirogan” distributed in the marketplace for more than seven decades. The mark is an iconic sound logo of the medicine.
TM Application No. 2015-29981 for famous Intel’s sound logo
Class 9 – Microprocessors
Mark – Sound is audible by clicking here
Probably the most memorable and recognizable sound brand we can think of is Intel inside sound logo. It’s been around used to be at the end of their commercials.
IR No. 1177675 for the new BMW sound logo
Class 12 – Automobiles and parts thereof, included in this class.
Mark – Sound is audible by clicking here
The new BMW sound logo is the result of an agency pitch held in 2012 and a subsequent process of precise fine-tuning; it is characterized by a memorable melody produced from an innovative sound mixture (sound elements recorded forwards and backwards) which achieves a high degree of recognisability; the melody is preceded by a swelling sound, prepared by two striking, bass-driven accents and leading up to a shimmering, refined conclusion; this combination stands for the joy of progress, technology and pleasure-oriented driving; the self-assured, well-grounded tonality of the sound logo thereby created emphasizes the innovative strength and dynamics of the BMW brand, thereby establishing a general automobile context; in this acoustic design, sounds played forwards and backwards are used symbolically as elements of flexible mobility; the tonality is both self-assured and firmly grounded; an extravagant tonal style conveys the joy of progress, technology and pleasure-oriented driving; the following is a graphic reproduction (shown in sheet music form) of the BMW sound logo.
From April 2015, the JPO began accepting application for the registration of sound mark.
So far, 566 sound marks are applied for registration for the past two years. Among them, 172 sound marks are registered already. According to the announcement from JPO, above three cases are the first sound marks solely consisting of sound element.
Mostly, registered sound marks are a combination of sound element and linguistic element (lyrics). Where an applied sound mark contains distinctive linguistic element accompanying melody or rhythm, the JPO finds no reason to negate distinctiveness of the entire mark regardless of insufficient distinctiveness at sound element itself.
In that meaning, above three sound marks are theoretically entitled to enjoy protection over sound element. Unauthorized use of the sound itself constitutes trademark infringement even if the sound accompanies lyrics.
News release from JPO is accessible from here.
MASAKI MIKAMI, Attorney at IP Law – Founder of MARKS IP LAW FIRM
